Sick Days
by Is you heart in the game
Summary: Soul is sick. Just a little Soul and Maka fluff.


Soul drowsily opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It was early afternoon. Sunlight shone through his window angled straight at his bed. He groaned and tried to block it out.

His head was killing him and he felt dizzy and tired. He had no idea where Maka was, but vaguely recalled her telling him she was going shopping with Tsubaki.

He shook his head. He would never understand girls and shopping. Soul was the only one who saw her real clothes. He didn't understand why she bought so much of something no one ever saw.

Groaning, he rolled out of bed and clutched a chair while he waited for the world to stop spinning. It didn't. He stumbled through the hallway and into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. Remembering Maka's advice from last time he was sick, he sipped the water a little at a time. His throat still felt dry.

He leaned on the counter for a moment and realized he had nothing to do. He didn't feel like going anywhere, he didn't want to talk to anyone, and he certainly didn't want to do homework.

He ended up walking over to the couch and sitting on it heavily, clicking on the television. Honestly, he didn't even know what he was watching. Drying paint would have kept him fascinated. His eyes stared into nothing. He tried to regulate his blinking, but his eyes just stayed where they were, glued to the TV screen. He wondered how long he could go without blinking.

All of the sudden, he heard the sound of footsteps and the jangling of keys outside the front door.

Maka entered seconds after, and looked in Soul's direction.

Their eyes met. "Oh, Soul..." Maka said in a condescending tone, and set down her shopping bags.

She walked over to the couch and tried to put her hand on his forehead. Soul jerked away. Se forcibly held his head in place and placed her cool hand on his forehead.

Soul relaxed a little. It felt nice.

"You've got a fever." Maka told him. "How are you feeling?"

"Bad." Soul answered honestly.

A ghost of a smile danced across her lips. "Hang on. I'll be right back."

Soul wanted to tell her to stop babying him, that he could take care of himself, but he felt too tired to argue. He nodded his head and turned back toward the TV, realizing for the first time that he hadn't even turned it on.

Maka returned a few minutes later clad in comfortable sweatpants and a light sweater.

"Come on," she ordered him, helping him up and across the hallway.

Soul felt like he should have been embarrassed- he was wearing only a white shirt and red boxers, and was wrapped up in the comforter from his bed. But he wasn't. Apparently he'd been living with Maka long enough to feel comfortable around her in his sleep-wear.

"Lie down." Maka ordered him when they got to his bedroom. Soul obeyed, and watched her warily as she closed the blinds and made the room blissfully dark.

She left the room and returned shortly afterwards with a wet cloth, which she put on Soul's forehead. It was nice and cold.

"Ahhhhhh." Soul said appreciatively.

He felt comfortable now. Maka had a way of making him feel better by doing simple things like that.

Maka sat on the other end of the bed and pulled out a book. Soul was confused. She was going to read here?

"Once upon a time…" she read. Soul couldn't help but smile. She was going to read him to sleep.

Most of the time voices gave him a headache, but Maka's voice was like a melodious song. All the notes were being played in the right order at the right time to produce a sweet symphony of syllables and accents. It was a lullaby.

Gradually, he became aware that he was falling asleep. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness, catching parts of sentences and sometimes paragraphs before falling back into a cloud of fog.

When he woke up for real, there was silence. His headache was completely gone. In fact, he felt ten times better than he had that morning. Maka had fallen asleep in a very uncomfortable position at the end of his bed.

Smiling at her childlike innocence, Soul scooped her up and took her across the hall to her room. He gently laid her down on the bed and rearranged her limbs so she wouldn't be sore in the morning.

Her eyelids fluttered. "Soul?" she asked groggily.  
"Shhh. Go back to sleep." he said. She obeyed at once, eyes closing and chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Overcome by a certain tenderness, Soul tucked the blanket in around her and moved a stray piece of hair from her face. He smiled and walked back to his room.

The next morning, feeling totally rejuvenated, he dressed, walked to the kitchen, and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

Maka walked in when he was mid-chew. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were askew. She made some coffee for herself and sat across from him at the table.

"Sorry." Soul said, but he couldn't help grinning.

Maka gave him a tired smile.

Soul finished his cereal and tossed the empty bowl in the sink.

He put his hand on the doorknob and stopped.

"Hey, Maka?" he said. Maka turned towards him.

"Thanks." He said simply, and left.

Maka smiled down into her coffee.


End file.
